Crash PC said he wasn't speeding; But court hears of black box records.

Byline: SAM BEATTIE

A POLICE driver accused of killing a young woman by ploughing into her car at nearly 80mph allegedly told colleagues he wasn't speeding.

But a black box-style recorder in PC Thomas David Hart's Cleveland Police van confirmed he was travelling at almost twice the 40mph speed limit on a wet road, a jury heard.

Shortly after colliding with 25-year-old Aimee Welsh, he told officers at the scene she was "driving in the middle of the road", the court heard.

The claim has been contradicted by a police collision investigator and Miss Welsh's fiance, who survived the head-on smash.

It is alleged that Hart was doing 77mph when he lost control on a corner approaching Middlesbrough's Newport Bridge while responding to an emergency call.

A police crash investigator yesterday told Teesside Crown Court it would have been impossible for the 28-year-old PC to have taken the bend safely at that speed.

Another officer, PC Neil Armstrong, who responded to the collision and later took statements from Hart, stood in the witness box to relive the night in question - October 18 last year.

Recalling a conversation with Stockton-based Hart at the scene, he said: "He (Hart) stated that he went over the brow of the hill, the back end of the van has gone and he's overcorrected it and hit an oncoming vehicle which was in the middle of the road.

"We asked him how fast he'd been going and he basically said he couldn't speed because he believed the vehicle was fitted with a restrictor.

"He was visibly shaken. He had cuts to his hands. He seemed a little bit in shock."

Subsequent investigations showed the van was not fitted with any device to limit its speed, jurors heard.

Hart, who lives in Sunderland and denies causing death by careless driving, was taken to the University Hospital of North Tees.

Miss Welsh, of Thornaby, and her fiance, passenger Anthony Theakston, had to be cut from the wreckage.

She needed 10 hours of emergency surgery for fractures and other injuries and died in hospital a month later.

The Crown has previously said she was driving "perfectly normally" and there was absolutely no evidence to suggest she was at fault.

Members of her family, who packed the court's public gallery yesterday, wept as a video of the aftermath shot from on-board a police car was shown.

Police collision investigator, PC Steve Garner, was called to piece together the moments leading up to the crash.

He said that, in theory, a vehicle could maintain traction at speeds of up to 84mph around the corner on which Hart lost control - evidence backed up by a second expert witness, traffic accident investigator John Grieveson.

However, under cross examination, PC Garner said that in reality, "the bend couldn't be taken safely at 77mph".

He said technical details, including the vehicle's speed and position on the road had been recorded on the van's black box.

The "substantial impact" of the vehicles colliding triggered the recording device, which is fitted to all Cleveland Police emergency vehicles and is similar to technology used on aeroplanes.

The trial, which began on Monday and is scheduled for four days, continues.

CAPTION(S):

ON TRIAL: PC Thomas David Hart, far left, is in court charged with causing the death of Aimee Welsh, left, by dangerous driving near Newport Bridge, above